David Eugene "Dave" Heineman (born May 12, 1948, in Falls City, Nebraska) is the current RepublicanGovernor of Nebraska. He originally assumed the role when Mike Johanns was appointed United States Secretary of Agriculture in President George W. Bush's Cabinet on January 20, 2005. Heineman was officially elected to the position in November 2006 and re-elected in the 2010 midterms. He is term limited from running for a third term as governor in the 2014 elections.

Biography

After graduating from West Point, Heineman served for five years with the United States Army, leaving with the rank of captain. He graduated from the Army Ranger training program during his years of service.

Education

Bachelor's degree in economics - United States Military Academy at West Point (1970)

Political career

Governor of Nebraska (2005 - Present)

Heineman originally assumed the governorship upon Mike Johanns' appointment as United States Secretary of Agriculture in January 20, 2005. He was officially elected to the position in November 2006 and re-elected in the 2010 midterms.

Issues

Tax reform

In January 2013, Heineman announced he would seek to eliminate the state income tax and replace it by eliminating many sales tax exemptions. He said he believes eliminating the income tax would make the state a magnet for jobs.[1] However, on February 16, 2013, he asked the Nebraska State Senate to kill two tax reform bills, which had been introduced by Senators Beau McCoy and Brad Ashford on the governor's behalf and referred to the Revenue Committee. LB 405 would repeal the state personal and corporate income taxes while also eliminating $2.4 billion worth of sales tax exemptions.[2] The more limited LB 406 would repeal just the corporate income tax and eliminate $400 million worth of sales tax exemptions while also exempting up to $12,000 of retirement income from the income tax.[3] The Platte Institute for Economic Research, a pro-market think tank, supported eliminating both the personal and corporate income taxes.[4][5] After his proposal met with significant opposition from businesses and others who would have been affected by eliminating the sales tax exemptions, Heineman said he wanted the bills pulled so that Revenue Committee Chairman Galen Hadley could develop a more comprehensive tax reform plan.[6][7]

Tax cut

In Dec. 2006, Heineman presented the Nebraska State Legislature with a middle class tax cut which promised $1 billion of tax relief over the subsequent four years.[8] After finagling with state legislators, he signed LB 367, the largest tax relief bill in the state's history. The bill provided $425 million in tax relief over a two year period. Heineman also pushed for legislation that would make the state's Department of Health and Human Services more accountable to citizens.

Agriculture

In a state where agricultural issues are important, Heineman has made them a top priority. The governor helped to negotiate trade deals with the Republic of China and Cuba for the exportation of wheat, soybeans, and other commodities. He has also been a proponent of increased production of ethanol.

The Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")

Nebraska Watchdog reported on Heineman's feud with the Nebraska Democratic Party regarding his opposition to national health care and his push to get top educators in the state to fight the Obama health care plan. [9]

Judicial appointments

As governor, Heineman is responsible for appointing judges to Nebraska state courts. In Nebraska, the governor makes a judicial appointment after candidates are recommended by a judicial nominating commission. After the governor appoints a judge, she or he must run for retention in the next general election more than three years after taking office. For an up-to-date list of all of Heineman's appointees, see Judgepedia's page on his appointments.

2014 Gubernatorial Election

Heineman is barred by term limits from seeking a third term as governor in 2014.

He had intended to enthusiastically back former Lieutenant GovernorRick Sheehy, with whom he shared a winning ticket in both the 2006 and 2010 elections, as his successor until Sheehy abruptly resigned from office in Feb. 2013. His stemmed from an Omaha World-Herald expose that showed had made roughly 2,300 phone calls, many late at night, to women other than his wife over the past four years on his state-issued mobile phone.[10] "I had trusted him and that trust was broken," Gov. Dave Heinman explained at a Feb. 2 press conference where he made the shocking announcement.[11][12] Sheehy announced his candidacy for governor back in July 2011, and [13] had been considered the front-runner until the scandal broke, causing a "deeply disappointed" Heineman to withdraw his support for Sheehy's gubernatorial campaign, which shut down soon thereafter.[14][15][16]

Controversies

Lieutenant Governor resignation

Lieutenant Governor Rick Sheehy resigned on February 2, 2013 amid revelations he had abused his state-issued cell phone privileges over the course of four years. As governor, Heineman was authorized to appoint an interim lieutenant governor to serve out the remaining two years of Sheehy’s term. Heineman appointed Lavon Heidemann (R) to fill the vacancy. Heidemann was sworn in on February 13, 2013.[17] He will serve in this role until a successor can be elected in 2014.[18]

Budget plan

In Nov. 2009, while Nebraska faced "a [budget] shortfall of $334 million" caused largely by shrinking sales tax receipts, Heineman introduced a plan to help balance it that included a number of cost saving measures such as "agency savings, transfers from the general fund" [19] and a 2.5% across-the-board reduction to most state agencies in the 2009 fiscal year and a 5% reduction in fiscal year 2010-2011, cuts totaling $80 million.

Heineman's budget proposal would also take another $154 million from K-12 education, Medicaid, the state prison system and the State Patrol. School budgets would not be cut, the planned increases would simply be frozen, Heineman assured. Unlike neighboring Iowa's GovernorChet Culver, Heineman's proposal did not include a personal salary cut. Heineman said he would oppose any attempt to increase income or sales taxes and expressed his opposition to dipping any further into the state’s cash reserve fund.[20]

Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska (2001 - 2005)

Heineman was appointed as Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska on October 1, 2001, after David I. Maurstad resigned in order to serve as director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region VIII. He was elected to his first full term the following year.

Nebraska Treasurer (1994 - 2001)

Heineman was first elected to the office of treasurer in 1994 and won re-election to the office four years later.

Fremont City Council (1990-1994)

Heineman was first elected to serve the general public of Nebraska in 1990 as a member of the Fremont City Council. He remained there until 1994 when he successfully campaigned to be the state's treasurer.

Campaign donors

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of Dave Heineman and Rick Sheehy's donors each year.[26] Click [show] for more information.

Dave Heineman and Rick Sheehy's Campaign Contributions

2010Governor and Lt. Governor of Nebraska

2006Governor and Lt. Governor of Nebraska

Total Raised

$2,683,538

$3,753,055

Total Raised by General Election Opponents

$107,458 (Dem.)

$380,498

Top 5 contributions

Nebraska Education Association

$32,185

Dave Heineman

$390,000

AFLAC

$30,000

Service Employees International Union

$45,000

Nebraska Bankers Association

$25,500

Larry Courtnage

$37,000

Nebraska Printing Center

$22,451

ACC Capital Holdings

$25,000

Eldon Roth

$21,000

Nebraska Printing Center

$21,214

Individuals

$1,023,998

$1,072,932

Institutions

$870,951

$797,556

In-state donations

$1,612,875

$3,448,392

Out-of-state donations

$315,380

$239,200

Personal

Heineman currently resides in Freemont, Nebraska with his wife, Sally Ganem, and their son, Sam. He is a practicing Methodist.